


Hanukkah At Camp Half-Blood: It's Lit (Part 1)

by theartofimaginaryfriends



Series: Hanukkah Oneshots [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hanukkah, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27990516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartofimaginaryfriends/pseuds/theartofimaginaryfriends
Summary: Percy celebrates Hanukkah at Camp Half-Blood.
Series: Hanukkah Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050059
Kudos: 6





	Hanukkah At Camp Half-Blood: It's Lit (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> For the first day: The first light tells of Him whose first command was "let there be light." The darkness of idol worship scattered when Israel brought radiant knowledge of one G-d. "I am the first and I am the last, saith the Lord."

Until he was thirteen, Percy had never known what a proper Hanukkah celebration was like. When Smelly Gabe was around, Sally would sneak Percy to the fire escape and they would quietly light the candles each night and recite the prayers under their breaths. During his first year without his ex-stepfather, they lit the candles in the kitchen by the window. Aside from that, he had never celebrated with a group.

Now, he stood on Half-Blood Hill staring in awe at the giant menorah being set up by the Hephaestus kids. The menorah was celestial bronze, and as big as the Christmas tree that was placed a few feet away from it. There were nine branches in total, all holding bulbs in the shape of a candle flame. The middle branch, the shamash, held the light that represented HaShem. The furthest branch on the right held the second one, symbolizing the first night of Hanukkah.

Percy couldn't help but grin at the sight. There were engravings on the base, the most prominent being a Magen David. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's going to be even better tonight when the sun is down," Percy responded, turning to Beckendorf. "How does it work?"

"We've added different controls at the base to turn each holder on individually," he explained. "But it’s just used for display. There's one set up in the Big House so the Jewish campers can have a proper ritual every night."

"Can't wait."

Percy spent the rest of the day settling into camp and buzzing with excitement as he joined some campers in a game of Dreidel. He claimed his dreidel faulty, having only played a small game with his mum once the year before. In reality, Connor Stoll kept blowing on the spinning tops to keep it from landing on gimel. This allowed the son of Hermes to win the pot, and the game reset for another round. When the game was over, everyone split the chocolate gelt between them, and Percy snuck off to hide his stash in his dorm. The silver lining of having no cabinmates was that he didn’t have to share the chocolate he now got to snack on in the middle of the night.

Dinner that night consisted of latkes with applesauce and brisket, with sufganiyot for dessert. Percy had more helpings of the meal than he cared to admit, enjoying the traditional meal. Grover joined him for dinner, and Percy told his best friend about how he celebrated the Jewish holidays with his Mum in the past.

Before the campfire, the Jewish campers made their way to the Big House. Percy managed to make his way to the front of the group, standing right next to an Aphrodite kid. They recited the prayers as the candles were lit. The leader invited Percy to light the candle using the shamash, and the son of Poseidon happily obliged.

When they were finished, everyone made their way to the campfire. The song leader from the Apollo cabin led everything through a Hanukkah sing-along, the entire camp laughing as they added new verses to  _ The Dreidel Song _ based on what rhymed with a specific material.  _ Maoz Tzur _ and _ Oh Hanukkah _ closed off the night, and everyone separated to their respective cabins chatting away. The menorah that the Hephaestus kids made light up the camp nicely, and looked magnificent under the moonlight.

For the first time, Percy felt a sense of community during the holidays. The remaining seven nights were bound to be as fun as the first.


End file.
